Rapid win at Hofmann’s debut, only a draw for Salzburg
Home win for Rapid against Altach, Salzburg’s series of goals tore after 43 home games.
Football series champions Salzburg only scored 0-0 against Admira three days before the Champions League appearance in Lille in the Bundesliga. This meant that the superior league leader remained without his own goal for the first time after 43 league home games in a row. Rapid won the first game under the interim coach duo Steffen Hofmann / Thomas Hickersberger a 1-0 home win against Altach and is fifth before the Sunday games.
Ried defeated Hartberg 1-0 at home and initially moved up to fourth place. Hartberg lost for the first time after five unbeaten away games.
The interim coach duo Hofmann / Hickersberger had a successful premiere in Hütteldorf. In the first game after Dietmar Kühbauer’s era, Rapid celebrated a 1-0 home win against SCR Altach on Saturday and made it to fifth place before Sunday’s 15th round of the Bundesliga. This also made it possible to satisfy the fans who, due to the lockdown on Monday, were probably allowed to die in the stadium for the last time before Christmas.
Right-back Filip Stojkovic ensures a negative backdrop of only 8,900 spectators that Rapid returned to winning ways after two competitive defeats. At home, on the other hand, the successful run was three points in a row, there was in the fourth competition game. The dress rehearsal before the home game against West Ham United in the Europa League, in which only one win counts in the promotion race, was also successful. A missed penalty by Ercan Kara (85th) in the majority, as Noah Bischof was sent off in the 59th minute after VAR intervention, did not count towards the weight field. For the penultimate Altach, who won the “first leg” 2-1, it was the second defeat en suite.
There was actually no surprise on Rapids’ starting grid. As expected, Martin Moormann slipped into the team in central defense, as Maximilian Hofmann, another central defender (Corona contact person), had to pass. The other two changes compared to the 1: 4 at WAC concerned the regular players Maximilian Ullmann and Robert Ljubicic, who returned. In the Altachern coached by ex-Rapid trainer Damir Canadi, Atdhe Nuhiu and Manuel Thurnwald, two former green and white teams, started.
Hofmann had announced a victory for the game and his team would have given him a dream start. After less than half a minute of the game, Taxiarchis Fountas failed first to Tino Csasali, before Kara, served by Marco Grüll, shot over from the best position. Fountas also tested Altach’s goalkeeper with a long shot (14th). The momentum that came was quickly gone, however, the Viennese let the ball run well in their own ranks without radiating a goal hazard. Above all, there was a lack of the necessary ideas and precision in the passing game.
Altach was standing, but was very equal with the only top chance before the break. Bischof brought the ball past Paul Gartler, Moormann, who had previously lost the duel, was able to correct his mistake, but saved by sliding shortly before the line (34th).
Even after changing sides, the guests slept through the beginning. This time they were punished for it after a little more than a minute. After Fountas hole pass, Stojkovic rolled the ball into the far corner. A gala performance of the locals did not follow either. That didn’t really change after an intervention by the video referee, who gave Bischof a red card, who had gotten tough against Gartler in the penalty area. Fountas hit the outside pole (60th), but otherwise it was the Vorarlberg team who fought courageously and were potentially dangerous in spite of the fact that they were outnumbered.
Only in the finish could Rapid have made everything clear, but after a foul by Stefan Haudum on Thierno Ballo, Kara failed on Casali. Block West still had reason to celebrate, for the first time in some time because of the protest against the 2G regulation, there had been active support.
(APA / red.)